Government Plays Ball

My good friend Foul Ball and I were eagerly anticipating the World Classic. Then the bad news arrived. The US Treasury Department issued a statement last Tuesday, excluding the Cuban National team from playing in the World Baseball Classic next March, stating that the existing embargo "prohibits entering into contracts in which Cuba or Cuban nationals have an interest."

Some fans may recall the exhibition games Baltimore orchestrated between the Orioles and Cuba in 1999. Orioles owner Peter Angelos worked with the Clinton administration for 3 years to coordinate those 2 games. One was played in Baltimore and the other in Havana. The letter of the law states that Cuba may not receive financial benefit through their participation. In the case of the ’99 exhibition games the Orioles donated proceeds and equipment to athletic programs in both countries. To their credit, the Orioles left cases of baseballs and about a dozen duffle bags stuffed with batting helmets, gloves, and catcher’s gear.

Angelos is uncertain that the current administration will alter its position. Major League Baseball, the sponsor and organizer of the World Classic is reapplying to the Office of Foreign Assets Control on behalf of the Cuban team, emphasizing that Cuba will not receive monetary considerations for their participation, unlike every other team. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig had no public comment, perhaps still stunned from his appearance at the congressional hearings on MLB steroid policy.

Alternates for Cuba might be Nicaragua or Columbia. Okay, but hardly a substitute for Cuba. In 2005 there were 22 players of Cuban descent in the major leagues (and 2 umpires). 150 Cuban born players have played in Major League Baseball. It’s remarkable for a country with a population equivalent to a large US city (11 million). If the embargo is designed to overthrow a dictator, it’s not working. He’s outlasted every president since Dwight Eisenhower (9 and counting).

The list of communist countries is pretty small these days, down to 5. One of these countries is our #1 economic trading partner (China). Another produces most of the popular Nike gear so many people are fond of wearing (Vietnam). North Korea poses a theoretical threat that could spin and undo all polite society. That leaves Laos and Cuba to round out our cold war enemy list. US citizens can obtain visas and travel to Laos, but not legally to Cuba for the past 46 years.

According to the Cuban Interior Ministry there have been 637 assassination attempts by the US on Fidel Castro. The US and Cuba signed a lease for a military base in Guantanamo Bay in 1934. It is the oldest military base outside the United States. Our government sends a US Treasury voucher in the sum of $4,035 per year as a lease payment. Fidel Castro has never cashed these checks.

Maybe baseball is the answer to world peace, or possibly at least a hemispheric one. Letting Cuba play is a small thing. Base has personally witnessed the power of a poor country’s team achieving success on the international stage. A winning home team generates pride, not because of or for their political leaders, but rather the community it creates. When a Denver or Salt Lake City team wins a game it is felt well into the hinterlands as some sort of puzzling regional pride. We actually have no real impact on the results as fans, except for having been taxed for building a stadium venue and paying admission to the games. Oh, and buying overpriced souvenirs made in China or Vietnam, and subjecting ourselves to more advertising towards purchasing more things from the sponsors.

We can really hold a grudge. Perhaps time for some benevolence and good will at off.base@gmail.com ?